Shadowhunters: Their Lives Afterwards
by lifeafterwards
Summary: Happy story of the Mortal Instruments after the two wars. New chapters every week. Don't forget to review and follow the story. I'm open to all suggestions and improvements ;)
1. Chapter 1

Thunder. Jace's arms wrapped around Clary's waist protectively. The room smelt strongly of coffee, and home; which was wherever Jace was, Clary thought. "You know, Isabelle and Simon aren't supposed to be here for another few hours." Clary said, raising an eyebrow. "Judging by this weather, they probably might not get here at all." The corner of Jace's lips curled up, and Clary spun around almost immediately;her lips crashing into Jace's.

"Or actually, we thought we'd get here early." Isabelle strutted in, dropping the keys in the bowl on the glass table in the hallway. They broke apart quickly; Clary sighed, and Jace frowned. "You're no fun, you know."

"Trust me, I'd know," Simon chuckled and stopped immediately after getting a glare from Isabelle. "Anyways, you know why we're all here," Isabelle began to talk. "Alec and Magnus won't look at each other, barely even talk. What the hell's going on?"

"You're asking as if we'd know, Izzy." Jace took the cup out of Clary's hand and took a sip. "Ugh. Black coffee," muttered Jace as he pulled a face of disgust. Clary snatched the cup back from his hands. "Make your own coffee next time, Herondale."

"Pretty sure that'll be your last name too, soon. If you say yes." Jace smirked, and Clary blushed as red as her hair. Isabelle's eyes widened with a mixture of glee and shock, and Simon stood there with his jaw hitting the floor. "Did you...?"

"Don't be so sure I'll say yes, though, golden boy."

"Please, as if you could resist from spending the rest of your mortal life with this," Jace pointed to himself, and Clary rolled her eyes.

"Over time, one does grow immune to the temporary attractiveness of a war hero."

"Come on, temporary?"

"Call me up in 30 years time, Herondale."

"Pretty sure his arrogance and sarcasm will stick around for that time, don't you?" Simon grinned, and Jace shrugged his shoulders. "Guys, you're completely going off topic right now. What do we do about Alec and Magnus?" Isabelle asked, a genuine sense of concern visible in her eyes. "I've already tried asking, so don't try to say 'ask him'. Neither him or Magnus are saying anything, and Alec's moved some of his stuff to the institute. It looks serious, guys."

At that exact moment, Alec came crashing through the door, his clothes soaking wet. "I truly regret giving all of you the keys to this apartment. Does no one have the courtesy to knock anymore?" Jace said, walking over to Alec. "I'd give you a welcome hug right about now, but I probably won't be under the current situation." Alec smiled, but barely. There was clearly sorrow in his eyes, and everyone knew Alec as someone who was hard to read. "Alec?" Isabelle walked over to Alec, her face worried.

"I proposed to Magnus, and he said no. Period."

Clary nearly dropped her cup; Jace's face transformed from mild amusement to utter shock, and Isabelle took hold of Alec's hand firmly. Simon was the first to say anything. "Are you okay?" Clary stepped on Simon's foot at that exact moment, giving him a cold glare. "What do you think?" Alec muttered, his voice scarcely capable of was eerily silent. No one could find the right words or say anything. "I'm going to take a shower," Alec said, taking his damp coat off. "You don't mind me borrowing your clothes?"

"Of course not. Just make sure you don't rip them or anything trying to save the world. I mean, Clary ruined my best leather jacket already. I don't need any more painful losses."

"Hilarious as ever, Jace. And you could always buy that jacket again." Clary said, getting up from the chair and putting her empty mug into the sink.

"It was vintage."

They all smiled at that. Alec went upstairs, Simon and Isabelle broke into a serious conversation about watching the live D&D game next Friday, and Jace walked up to Clary and gave her a small peck on the cheek.

"Got an answer for me yet?" Jace whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Maybe," Clary turned around, putting her arms around his neck.

"Guys, this is your apartment. Do we need to remind you to get a room?" Jace laughed and took hold of Clary's hand, leading her upstairs. Clary kissed him softly; suddenly, her arms were against the wall, and she felt him melt into her. She scrambled for the door handle after freeing one of her arms and fell backwards into the room, Jace's arms now gripped tightly against her waist.

"Jesus Christ, I really picked the wrong room to shower in, didn't I?" Alec stood there in Jace's grey t-shirt and black ripped jeans, effortlessly showing off his olive skin. Clary and Jace instantly broke apart, flustered, realising how Alec must be feeling. Jace smoothed out his gold hair, and Clary straightened hers. "Don't worry, I'm going downstairs anyways," Alec gave them a pained smile and walked out of the room.

"I can't imagine how he must be feeling." Clary took a deep breath; that had been intense. All she really wanted to do was go to sleep now; the thunder was louder, and the rain splattered against the floor to ceiling windows in a torrent. Jace wrapped Clary in his warm embrace, his scent of sandalwood and cologne overpowering her senses. He smelt like home to Clary; after all, home was now where he was.

"Imagine if that was happening to us."

"Jace-"

"I know it won't, but Clary, I don't want that to happen to us. I'll understand if you don't say yes, okay? It probably feels too early, even though we've been together for a while. I'll probably be slightly heartbroken, but I need you to know that I'll always love you Clary, no matter what-"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I'll marry you," Clary smiled and kissed him gently and lovingly, stopping him from saying anything else. "But we can't tell anyone. Not now," she said, as Jace took hold of her hands.

Alex headed down the floating stairs, his damp, dark hair sitting limply on his head and his blue eyes misty from hurt. He descended down the stairs only to see Simon and Isabelle making out intensely on the grey leather couch, Simon's hands tangled up in her hair. "Seriously, why is everyone making out like intensely hormonal teenangers?"

"Maybe cause we are?" Jace was coming down the stairs behind Alec, smirking. "The three other guest rooms exist for a reason, you know."

"You guys are so annoying." Isabelle sighed, straightening out her hair and sinking into the couch, while Simon just grinned goofily, placing his arm around her. "Need I remind you, there's another three rooms unoccupied for you guys to do whatever in? We had soundproof walls installed. The neighbours kept complaining we were too loud." Alec chuckled; both Jace and Isabelle were relieved he was in somewhat of a better mood.

Clary came downstairs, her red hair loose and falling in waves, with a box of Scrabble in her arms. "Who's up to get their ass kicked by me?" She grinned directly at Jace, who returned her an amused smile. "Please, the last time my ass was kicked was by that Ravener, literally."

"Then who was playing Scrabble with me last week and lost to the word 'queens'?"

"You stole my amazing word, and you know it."

"Don't they say 'grab the opportunity while it lasts?' " Jace scoffed as Clary continued to grin and revel in his discomfort, along with Isabelle and Simon. She cleared the glass coffee table with one sweep, and set out the board. "Who's starting?"

"Me." a deep voice spoke out from behind a door.


	2. Chapter 2

Alec immediately stood up, his fists clenched tightly. "Leave."

Magnus stepped forward, out of the shadows, and gazed at Alec sternly. "I need to talk to you, Alexander."

"I think you did enough talking before you broke his heart and then disappeared, Magnus," Jace stood up and towards Alec, his hand around his shoulders and the other in his pocket.

"Alec?" Magnus looked at him pleadingly.

"Okay," Alec muttered softly. "Upstairs."

Magnus breathed in relief. Jace pulled his hand away and sat back down on the leather couch, just next to Clary. There was silence between them as Alec and Magnus headed upstairs until Simon placed 5 letters down on the board. "Zebra. Double letter. That's another 14 points to me."

Clary sighed and Isabelle didn't really care about the game anymore; Jace, on the other hand, had his brows furrowed and was deep in thought. Carefully, he placed an 'S' right next to the 'A'.

"Triple word. 42 points." He smiled and leant back into the sofa. Clary looked at him, frustrated. "You just totally stole my move."

"And you just stole my word," Simon scoffed.

Upstairs, Alec and Magnus were sitting opposite each other in their designated guest room. Isabelle and Simon also had their own and often kept some of their clothes whenever they wanted to crash at the apartment.

"Yeah." Magnus said, glancing at Alec.

"Hmm?"

"I'll marry you." Alec sat up straight.

"Okay."

"Okay? That's it?"

"Why did you say no in the first place?" Alec said in an irritated tone, running his hand through his scruffy, brown hair.

"I was scared. It's been so long since I've felt anything Alec - I thought I was fading away, slowly. But you came along, and then I could feel things. I could feel my heart beating faster every time I saw you. I knew you were a mortal, but I couldn't help it. I was scared that you'll be gone before long and that I'd be here, alone. I don't care anymore. I want to marry you and live with you and grow old with you, even though I'll just stay the same. I love you, and that was what scared. But it doesn't anymore." Alec finally smiled brightly.

Alec took off his jacket and began to unbutton Magnus's shirt. "Why don't we celebrate?"

"Jace, I thought those soundproof walls worked?" Isabelle grinned while Simon felt extremely awkward, hearing all those noises from upstairs. "Well, at least they resolved all their problems or whatever. Seems like we're going to have two weddings n-"

"WHAT?" Isabelle shrieked and got up from the sofa, her eyes wide with utter shock. "You're kidding me? Everyone's getting freaking married!" She scoffed and fell back into the sofa.

"I mean, Izzy, if you want to-"

"Don't try to finish that sentence, Simon."

"-get married…"

Jace and Clary began laughing, as Isabelle glared at Simon, who was smiling and clearly enjoying Isabelle's discomfort. "I'm happy for you guys. Seriously." Shaking it off, Isabelle began to say, grinning. "If anything, you guys deserve it. After everything…"

Suddenly, Isabelle looked pale and then proceeded to get up and run towards the bathroom. Simon immediately ran after her, obviously worried about her. Retching sounds emerged from behind the doors; all Jace and Clary could do was look at each other in silence.

"Arguments and vomiting and disgusting, black coffee. Not to mention the two weddings and a possible baby. It hasn't been a boring day, has it?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't you dare diss my black coffee ever again, _Jace_ ," Clary emphasised his name as she glared at him. "And how would you know Isabelle is pregnant? Cause I'm pretty sure you're not talking about me, Magnus or Alec."

"The way she's been acting. Haven't you noticed? She's been eating less than usual and looks even paler than she already was."

"That does NOT mean she's pregnant." Clary raised an eyebrow as she looked at Jace, who just shrugged and ran his hand through his blonde hair. It was always a dirty blonde sort of shade in early spring, but it suited Jace well; his bright golden eyes contrasted against his hair well, and Clary couldn't help but stare into his eyes. They edged closer until the only thing that was between them were their noses. "We never really got to finish what we started earlier, did we?"

"And you're still not going to, guys." Isabelle once again came back, bouncy and normal as ever, like she didn't vomit just a few minutes ago.

"Izzy, you know you're the worst, right?" Jace groaned as he moved away from Clary yet again, who was sitting with her legs crossed and with an amused expression. "So, when are you going to leave?" Jace asked not so subtly, his arms crossed in a childish manner. Simon got his jacket and handed Isabelle hers. "Rain's cleared. We're gonna leave you guys alone," Simon winked at Clary as he helped fasten Isabelle's trench coat on. Giving her a small peck on the lips, Simon took hold of her hand and headed out the front door.

"Finally," Jace breathed out, as he begun to take his shirt off and give Clary a seductive glance as he did. "You might want to put that back on, honey," Clary pointed towards an emerging Alec and Magnus, both of whom looked extremely dishevelled (which wasn't really an Alec thing to do) and a jubilant smile on both of their faces. When they realised what Clary and Jace clearly wanted to do, Alec threw his hands up and grinned. "We're leaving too, don't worry." Magnus put his faux fur coat back on, throwing his arm around Alec's waist and then placing his head on his shoulder. After they left, Jace had thrown his shirt onto the floor and came closer to Clary. "I need to-" Clary had begun to say before she was stopped immediately by Jace, who had kissed her on the neck. This resulted in an involuntary moan that had escaped Clary's lips; she really had to do the dishes, but...come on.

"Third time's the charm." Jace grinned as he took off Clary's top.

"Why are we doing this picnic thing again?" Jace asked, bewildered, as he picked up a slice of bread. Clary snatched the piece of bread and started to spread a thick layer of Nutella all over it. "Because I haven't seen anyone besides you for a week, and your face gets tiring to look at 24/7."

"Still don't understand the fact you're doing a _picnic_ and not a normal hangout."

"Why, would you rather us have a movie night?"

"That sounds way better."

"With Magic Mike. Or Twilight."

"And we're back to the picnic." He rolled his eyes, grabbed an apple from the basket and munched on it as Clary continued to pack up the picnic basket with food. "You sure it's all edible?" Jace smiled as Clary playfully punched him on the arm - hard. "Yeah, but maybe I put some sleeping meds into your drink so that you could shut up for a few hours."

Alec was sitting on the bench, waiting with Isabelle for Simon, Clary and Jace. Magnus couldn't make it; he muttered something like 'food poisoning' and said that he had some papers to read and look over. Finally, two people came into view, holding hands; clearly, this was Clary and Jace. They were laughing about something together, looking radiant and happy in their new engagement. To be honest, both of them had totally forgotten about it; Jace hadn't bought Clary a ring yet, seeing as her hands were so nimble and delicate she'd need a personalised size. They looked so carefree in their own bubble, it was hard for strangers not to ogle at them and feel a tinge of jealousy.

Clary was holding the basket in her hands, with Jace holding the bag with the picnic blanket, plates and cutlery. Alec stood up and went over to Clary to help her with the heavy basket, which had been laden with savoury and sweets (all from the market, because frankly, Clary couldn't cook _at all_ ) and Isabelle went over to Jace, taking out the blanket from the bag.

**WRITERS NOTE**

Hiya guys, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Most of the chapters I'll write will be somewhat around this length, and you should be getting a chapter every 2 or so days from now on. Exams are coming up for me, so it might become a chapter per week for a while, HOWEVER, don't worry, I will continue to write this story into the holidays. If you guys have any criticism, please feel free to tell me - my work isn't amazing, and I'd like to improve, so everything you guys tell me will be taken seriously. Also, follow the story ;D

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

"Should we pick this spot?" Isabelle inquired, pointing at a spot in the shade under a massive oak tree. "Sure, I don't see why not," Jace said, walking over and placing the heavy basket on the floor. "Jesus, Clary, what did you put in there?" Alec opened the basket, only to see it crammed with so much food. Fruits, sandwiches, crisps, chocolates and drinks were squashed together weirdly, and it became difficult to take anything out. "Let me do it," Simon said, walking over to the guys and smirking. "I've had more mundane picnics than all of you, so I should be the expert around here." Isabelle got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then embraced him. Simon had been in Idris for the past week; training to be an agile shadowhunter. He often spent weeks at a time in Alicante, but made sure to portal back to New York and check on Isabelle and everyone else. Carefully, Simon took out each individual item and placed it on different plates.

"Well, who's up for some squished sandwiches?" Clary said, grinning.

"No wonder Magnus had that 'meeting'," Alec muttered under his breath, picking up a tuna sandwich, disgruntled, and took a bite. Jace raised an eyebrow at Isabelle, who was happily sipping away on apple juice, even though her favourite bottle of rosé was sitting in front of her. Jace glanced at Clary and Alec, who were both thinking the same thing; Isabelle would never turn down her favourite rosé.

"How's shadowhunting going for you, Simon?" Clary quickly said, breaking the silent tension. "They told me you might be sent over to our Institute in New York."

"I'm not sure I'll be entirely happy about that," Jace said, smirking. Simon rolled his eyes. "I was going to be sent over to the Los Angeles one, but I convinced them to let me stay here."

"You convinced the Clave? You said something and they listened to you? That's a first," Jace raised his eyebrows; he wasn't lying. The Clave had become even more stricter than usual, although relaxed most of the time on small matters. Clary was staring at Isabelle, who was coincedently scrolling on her phone, obviously trying to stay out of the conversation. Isabelle looked up to see four pairs of eyes looking right at her, Jace smirking; Alec's eyebrows raised; Clary vaguely amused; and Simon, who just looked utterly helpless.

"Fine. It's a girl," Isabelle smiled and pointed to her stomach.

"And I hope to God she isn't anything like her mother," Simon grinned as Isabelle punched him in the shoulder.

"I second that motion," Jace said, taking a bite out of a green apple. Isabelle simply rolled her eyes and looked over to Alec, who hadn't said anything. Isabelle smiled at him, trying to get a response, but Alec just stood up and left. Clary reassured Isabelle that it was nothing; he was just surprised, that was all. But when they all realised that he wasn't going to come back, all they could do was watch him fade into the distance.


	5. Chapter 5

Isabelle flipped through the files she just recently recieved from Idris, not really paying attention. Yawning, she kept reading the words; nothing had made any sense so far. Suddenly, she bumped into someone, and when the papers were knocked out of her hands and she looked up, she could see familiar blue eyes piercing into her chocolate brown ones. "I'm sorry," Alec said coldly, kneeling down and picking up the papers in a hurry. "Alec, we need to talk."

"No, we really don't."

"Alec-"

"Go."

"What the hell, Alec! Don't even try to leave," she said loudly, grabbing a hold of Alec's arm firmly so he wouldn't escape. Her voice reduced into a menacing whisper. "You have no right to be angry at me. Why can't you just be happy and accept it?" She voice turned into sadness, and she felt vulnerable, exposed; everyone was looking at them two. She hated this.

"I'm trying to, Izzy. Just leave me alone." He shrugged off her hand and walked away, past Clary, who was looking at Isabelle. She looked as if she was about to cry.

"Everyone, get back to work. Al, Becca - there's a situation down in Brooklyn. Go check it out," Clary said in a strict and steady voice; her eyes glaring at all who kept looking. She walked towards her office, grabbing Isabelle's hand stealthily and dragging her along with her.

The room was radiating with a soft glow and heat from the fire in the fireplace. Jace was sitting behind one of the computers, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, until Clary coughed and Jace looked up. He got up from his chair and and gave Isabelle a brotherly hug. "It's gonna be okay. You know how Alec is. He always has some sort of stick up his ass," Jace said, as Isabelle smiled slightly.

"How about some shopping?" Clary took out her credit card out from her wallet. "I just got my salary from Alicante. Tough job running an institute, you know." She winked at Isabelle as she logged off her laptop and silencing her phone. "You know, I also run this institute-" He started, putting some signed papers into a neat pile. "And I do all the work." Clary raised an eyebrow at him as he smiled teasingly, leaning back into his desk chair. "Anyways, Izzy? Shall we?"

"I don't have my credit-" Isabelle barely got to finish her sentence before Jace threw his card at her. "Don't worry about it. Max it out or whatever. I need a new one anyways. I would totally love to join you two shopping, but someone's gotta do the work around here."

"We were going to go and shop for some cute baby clothes. You know, pink and fluffy."

"How adorable. Now I'm even more disappointed," Jace said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The air was bitter cold; December clouds had a gloomy effect on New York. However, Christmas was near, and festive lights littered the streets. Clary and Isabelle were sitting inside a cozy, warm Starbucks, which had the aroma of coffee drifting inside it. A hot fire was lit in the fireplace, and all the employees were wearing jolly festive hats. "That cute guy just winked at you," Isabelle said, winking at Clary as she sipped her decaf chai latte. "He was totally winking at you, Izzy." Clary rolled her eyes. "Uh, I'm pregnant, Clary. Clearly." Isabelle pointed to her baby bump, which was shown by her tight black dress. They both laughed, and Clary flashed a finger at her.

"He finally got you a ring?"

"Yup. Finally. Took him long enough to do it."

"Let me see it!" Isabelle squealed and grabbed Clary's hand, examining the ring.


End file.
